California is in the midst of a major K-12 reform effort. In 2010, the state adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), which outline what students should know in mathematics and English. In 2013, it adopted tests of the new standards developed by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Collaborative (SBAC). These tests will be administered beginning…

This brief studies California's introduction of the Early Assessment Program to bridge the gap between K-12 educational standards and postsecondary education requirements, similar to the Common Core State Standards movement.

The 1999 Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) created a system for summarizing performance on state standardized tests and an intervention program to help schools that were not meeting state-set goals. California's test scores have improved substantially since then, but state-led interventions programs have had little overall effect on this…

The purposes of this paper are to (1) consider the state testing program from the county point of view, (2) relate the testing program to other state required programs, and (3) make some suggestions for the future. (Author)

This study examined the construct validity of the subtests in the California Entry Level Test (ELT). The ELT is administered to every first grade pupil in California as part of the California Assessment Program and is used as a baseline measure of the prereading skills of beginning first graders. The discriminant validity of the subtests was…

Achievement test scores and measures of district and pupil characteristics were analyzed for all California school districts. Achievement test scores were found to be highly correlated among each other. The best single predictor of achievement scores was a measure of family poverty. Scholastic aptitude scores were not used as predictors.…

This document provides an overview of the history and current uses of student testing in California and a brief summary of some of the issues on the debate over assessment. In recent years, student testing has increasingly become a high-stakes enterprise in California. Today, policymakers are looking anew at various forms of testing to measure how…

This report describes the comprehensive evaluation study of the California State Preschool Program which involved elementary school children in educationally disadvantaged areas throughout California. Various test scores of approximately 6000 children in kindergarten, first, and second grade who had previously participated for at least a year in…

An overview is provided of the issues involved in the development of programs to assess institutional effectiveness, particularly as they relate to California community colleges. After part I reviews the trends that have made institutional accountability a legislative concern nationwide, parts II and III consider various definitions of…

This report from a blue ribbon panel of experts convened by Disability Rights Advocates, Inc. and the Oregon Department of Education addresses the interplay between standardized examinations and students with learning disabilities. The report describes in detail the accommodations, alternate assessments, appeals procedures, and other safeguards…

Since the mid-1970s, at least 20 states have instituted standardized tests that must be passed before students can receive a high school diploma. This paper draws on data collected in four states to explore some of the lasting effects of competency test legislation. Of particular interest is student awareness of these tests. A survey of 733…

Since the California Assessment Program began in 1972 to provide information for evaluation of school programs in California, major changes in testing practices have occurred. Scholastic aptitude testing has been eliminated in all grades; state-designed reading and basic skills tests are administered in grades one, two, three, six, and twelve.…

Presented are findings from California's State testing program for 1971-72 and 1972-73. The factors (variables) examined were divided into two groups: output factors, indicators of school quality such as scores on achievement tests; and input factors, factors describing the characteristics of school districts such as class size, tax rate, etc.…

The factors (variables) examined in the California State Testing Program were divided into two groups for the analyses: (1) the 11 indicators of school quality in terms of the products of the educational system, referred to as output factors (e.g., pupil scores on achievement tests); and (2) the 22 indicators of school quality in terms of the…

All second- and third-grade students in California public schools were tested in reading achievement, and all sixth and twelfth grade students were tested in reading, written expression, spelling, and mathematics. Second- and third-grade achievement gains were reported on the California Reading Assessment Program Reading Test over an eleven-year…